Recipes

Tamar Adler · NYT Cooking

This is the rare recipe for which I think it important to look at the picture — this updated one, not an intimidating old one — before beginning. A single glance confirms that the dish is not technically difficult to make, though it is a bit laborious. The leaves hold all the fillings, and the whole thing retains an odd calm beauty, the way a tree in bloom does.

Tamar Adler · NYT Cooking

For this braised lettuce — especially ambrosial if, as suggested here, a discreet anchovy or 10 are permitted — everything is fast and minimal. Put thin wedges of lettuce to quickly and lightly wilt in warm butter and broth and spoon it over hot bread. That’s all.

Tamar Adler · NYT Cooking

A good blancmange will have a slight wobble but not be so firm that it feels (as Amanda Hesser once wrote) like “eating a rubber ball.” I like the amount of gelatin here; if you don’t, decrease it by ¼ teaspoon and say a prayer, which will probably be answered. Your chosen mold doesn’t matter: I have used tart pans and spring-form pans and old blancmange molds, which are easy to find (or at least fun to seek).

Tamar Adler · NYT Cooking

Crab Louis is a rather perfect meal for a summer night, particularly in this slimmed down, very homemade, ketchup-less version. With nothing processed or sweetened, an updated Crab Louis is simply good American crab, Little Gem- or Boston Bibb-lettuce, and pickle- and caper-studded mayonnaise whisked from olive oil and the best, richest-yolked eggs you can find. The effect is as straightforward as the original's, but the details are resolutely contemporary.

Tamar Adler · NYT Cooking

Salisbury steak is an instance of an old recipe with enduring value. It is a good idea and a good name, though its reputation as a TV dinner has stained the prettiness somewhat. All that the old recipe — and its many variations — needed was a little updating. Here is a Frenchier and more contemporary version — rich with porcini butter, piquant with salsa verde. It is old-fashioned enough to be fun and elegant enough for a dinner party — and most definitely does not need a hamburger bun.

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

The reassurance of potato salad, its portability, conviviality and – depending on the cook – blank slate for creativity have been appealing to Americans since the last half of the 19th century. Immigrants and travelers to America introduced many styles, including variations of salade Nicoise (the French salad of potatoes, olives, green beans and tuna, dressed with vinaigrette), and salade Russe (cubed potatoes, peas and carrots bound with mayonnaise). German settlers brought hot potato salad, and that savory combination of warm potatoes lightly dressed with hot bacon fat and vinegar became entrenched in Pennsylvania and throughout the Midwest. This is an adaptation of a classic version that was first published in the 1931 edition of “The Joy of Cooking.” Suzanne Hamlin

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Along with burgers and hot dogs, a good potato salad is a quintessential part of a cookout, and this one is a classic. It’s dressed with mayonnaise, mustard and juice from the sweet pickle jar and incorporates fresh herbs for taste and greenery.

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin · NYT Cooking

Suzanne Hamlin